suggestions to strengthen legs so I can keep my original knees?

Okay -- so I haven't done anything athletic since I was 16 because of hereditary arthritis (I'm 52) and I started a few weeks ago doing this strength training with resistance bands and loops and things.  And it's going really well -- I'm up from 15 minutes to 40; I've moved to the second resistance tension stuff; I've gone from 6 different exercises to 17; I can do 8-12 reps of all 17. 

But I've mostly been doing upper body because my knees and hips are so iffy-- and the upper body exercises have really helped my elbows, shoulders, and wrists.  This week I've started doing 2 sets of lunges (I'm trying to get the vocabulary right -- be patient) and I'm wondering if there are specific exercises I should do first for lower body that will help strengthen the muscles to support my knees, hips, and ankles?  I've looked at the videos on the site where I got the bands -- but I really can't tell which will have the right effect. 

Review the starred thread on this forum on getting started the first section has info on weights  but also check this thread

http://caloriecount.about.com/forums/post/561 29.html

If you have access to a pool and you have a foam noodle, you can do strenght training without damaging your joints. I've had cartilage loss on my knees since my '20s (I'm in my '50s now) and my doctor told me to walk in a warm pool, try to keep your weight down too. I noticed they hurt more when I gain weight. You want to strenghten your quads and hamstrings to take the stress off your knee joints. For that I used to step on a noodle and pump up and down with each leg in a controlled movement. You want to start with 3 sets of 8 in the beguinning and go all the way up to 16 reps. When you find you can easily do 3x16, you can use 2 noodles for more resistance. There are many other strenght moves you can do in a warm pool with different props. Once you get stronger, you should walk out of the pool. You need to do weight bearing exercise also to prevent osteoporosis. You can use bands in the pool also.

Water aerobics can be a good twist on using the pool to work out.  There are various ways to change the resistance based on your level of fitness (how deep you are in the water, number of noodles, etc).  I did water aerobics with my mom for a summer and it was a lot of fun!

I developed arthritis when I was 10 so I feel ya.   My physical therapist said to do whatever exercises are comfortable that will help build muscle in the legs. I do deadlifts, squats, hipsleds, calf raises.  I pretty much do weights like any other person.  Start off very very slowly to make sure your form is perfect before increasing weights.  

I agree that my knees and hips don't hurt nearly as much when I keep my weight down and consistently weight train.   I am up to 140lbs deadlift, and my knees and hips are a lot better!

Agana -sound great.  Until a few weeks ago, I didn't know I could do this without pain -- and there is really a difference between fatigue/strengthening and joint pain.  I had just assumed (for 30 years) that it would cause that extreme arthritic pain I work so hard to keep at bay.  But it doesn't.  And 24 hours after the workout, the fatigue is gone and I'm stronger!  If I'd known about this, I'd have been doing it all my life!

The only problem I've had since starting the lower body work is that in the lunge, there seems to be a slight twist on the knee as I lunge -- and that realllllly hurts.  I tried yesterday just lifting my foot with each lunge -- which plays havoc with my balance -- and seems to burn the thigh muscles much more that otherwise.  But the joint didn't twist and I had less pain. 

That's not exactly keeping to perfect form -- am I likely to be doing myself harm this way?

 What you're doing sounds very close to a static lunge. And I think you'll be better off doing static lunges than dynamic ones from a knee health standpoint, at least until you've built up your strength sufficiently. A front dynamic lunge will require a lot more from your knees than a static or reverse lunge, and pushing too hard to start with is probably less than ideal.

  I think you'll get a lot of mileage out of reading The Hardcore Lunge by Mike Robertson. Mike outlines both a lunge progression and some ways to use bands to strengthen your legs and correct any imbalances you may have developed in his article, both things that will come in handy for you.

Melkor:  Wow -- good article.  It's amazing how comparmentalized lives become.  I know there are really athletic people out there, but they hardly ever cross my path -- I'm a watercolor artist and paint maker with a toy store (I used to be a management consultant and trainer in the oil business, then I taught at a university for a while....)  The sub-sets and various cultures within US culture are amazing.

Anyway -- about the article -- with the bands, I've been doing lunges to the side because that's the way it is pictured in the video I've been watching.  They call it a flye side lunge. (step into a lunge on right leg while pulling the door-anchored band across my chest and up with my left hand.)  I will try some of the forward/reverse lunges he showed in the article -- it seems obvious now that going straight forward or reversed would eliminate much of the danger of twisting.

Thanks!

This may help you with your leg exercises. I bought a set of bands from this site http://www.tobands.com/  if you click on the website and scroll part way down it will show you different exercises you can do, but on the right side of the screen you can click on click here to see more. it shows you multiple exercises you can do for each area you are working on.

Tim Korth

If you are overweight and have arthritis in the knees, the very best thing you can do is lose weight.  My heriditary arthritis in the knees is exactly what prompted my weight loss.  When I was at my heaviest weight (255 lbs) I could barely walk.  After losing weight I can now walk for hours, and I'm on a training program to begin running again.  In my case I did a lot of low impact cardio exercise in the beginning to get the weight loss started.  After one year, and 100 lbs of weight loss, I am only now beginning to work on lunges and squats - and I'm being very careful not to injure myself.  Hope this helps.

Hi --

Yes, I am doing weight loss now (the logs on this site really help).  I've lost about 8% of my total body weight -- and I think the strength building resistance band and stretching stuff is really making a difference.  After a month, I feel a lot more energized.  The biggest problem is that my knees are so bad that I've already had surgery on them both -- just not the replacements.  So I'm still doing mostly upper body exercises -- mostly out of over-caution.  I've done that particular pain enough that it's worked like aversion therapy.  I just don't take chances.  I can happily live the rest of my life without high-impact-anything.  You know -- it's that old "I've got nothing to prove except that I'm still walking..."-motivation.

I don't do lunges anymore.   That is one exercise that seems to bother my joints so I don't like to do it.   My doctors have been very firm with me about staying active...a use it or lose kind of thing with your joints.  Awesome job with losing weight and getting active.   I am trying to avoid all those surgeries in my future too.....go us!!